
Hypergravity Reshapes Fruit Fly Biology—with Lasting, Generational Effects
UC Riverside researchers exposed fruit flies to 4–13G using a centrifuge for 24 hours or across 10 generations, then returned them to normal 1G. The flies kept their startle-triggered geotaxis but showed markedly reduced spontaneous movement at higher gravity, likely due to energy conservation and shifts in lipid metabolism. After return to 1G, 4G-exposed flies became briefly hyperactive, while higher-G flies recovered slowly with lasting locomotor impairments; multigenerational exposure caused even greater, enduring deficits. The findings suggest gravity exposure can induce lasting physiological changes, potentially epigenetic, with implications for artificial gravity design and astronaut health during space travel.










